


Space Dust

by quiet_one



Series: Cora Shepard [2]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Other, Tenth Street Reds, back story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-06-06
Updated: 2012-08-12
Packaged: 2017-11-07 02:29:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/425894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quiet_one/pseuds/quiet_one
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The follow on from my first story 'Sticks and Stones', this story follows my Shep Cora as she grows up. </p><p>In the falling dark, with the rough roar of a space ship over head, Cora sees something. Dust, catching the light as it falls to the ground, and she reaches up to catch it.</p>
          </blockquote>





	1. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The follow on from my first story 'Sticks and Stones', this story follows my Shep Cora as she grows up. 
> 
> In the falling dark, with the rough roar of a space ship over head, Cora sees something. Dust, catching the light as it falls to the ground, and she reaches up to catch it.

The bridge cracked and groaned under the two girl’s weight, threatening to send them both crashing into the street below. It was no good; they’d never make it across unless they could make a stronger join.

“Rilla, back up,” Cora ordered, scowling down at the wood beneath her. She’d been so sure they had it right that time, especially after she’d found the slightly newer bit of rope. Well, there was time to give it another go.

Rilla edged back onto the roof then held the plank as Cora jumped back off the bridge, landing neatly next to her.

“What do you want to do now?” demanded Rilla, jigging from foot to foot. “We could go back to mine and….”

“This was _your_ idea,” Cora said, staring at her friend until she held her hands up in submission.

“Alright, fine. One more go and then we can go back to mine.”

It was fairly typical of Rilla to come up with an idea, and then get bored before they’d even finished it, though Cora had to admit that this hadn’t been as stupid as some of her other ideas.

Only the week before they’d narrowly avoided being arrested when Rilla decided it would be nice to look inside one of the shipping warehouses down by the docks. It turned out they had rather more than just dogs patrolling outside.

The empty building on Tenth Street had looked much easier in comparison, but it had so far repelled their every attempt to get in, without having security mechs on guard.

“What did you say was in there again?” asked Cora, looking around for the bit of rope she’d discarded earlier.

“I dunno.”

“I thought you said…”

A loud masculine shout of “Hello ladies,” made them both jump, and they looked round to see a gang of boys on the other side of their bridge. _Ah yes_ , Cora remembered. The Tenth Street Reds were supposed to be in that building.

“Looks like you’re trying to break in, that right?” one of the boys shouted, leaning on the edge of the roof top as he stared over. “Are you both wanting in? Hey blondie, you can come over anytime, see what we’ve got,” he shouted at Rilla. “You can leave your friend at home ‘til she grows some tits.”

Cora felt her face colour with embarrassment, and the gang started laughing, a couple of them making obscene gestures over the gap at them. At the age of fourteen puberty had done very little for Cora other than give her a good few inches in height over her friend. Rilla, however, had grown outwards one way in particular.

“Leave them alone,” one of the boys said. “They’re just kids.” The voice was familiar, but the owner was hidden in the gang of boys, most of whom looked barely fourteen themselves.

Rilla grabbed Cora’s sleeve, tugging insistently at it to get her attention. She’d already considered running away, then thought better of it considering how trapped they were up there. Any escape route would be cut off within minutes, and Rilla was a slow runner.

“Where’s the fun in leaving them alone?” laughed the first boy, staring at Rilla in a way that made her cringe. “I’m going to go over and say hello.”

He started climbing onto the bridge, and Rilla turned to run, her eyes wide with fear as they boy started towards them one tiny step at a time. As much as Rilla loved getting into trouble she was hopeless at getting out of it again, often getting  them into situations that Cora had to get them out of.

She grabbed Rilla’s arm, looked pointedly at the plank then climbed up onto the bridge herself, desperately hoping that her frightened friend would get the hint before it was too late.

The moment Cora got up on the bridge, high above the street and moving at last she felt the thrill of actually doing something, all her nerves vanishing in an instant. This was what she was good at, dealing with the trouble she so often found herself in.

Once up and balanced she took a few moments to size up the boy shuffling towards them, then she turned her attention to his gang, searching for the source of the other voice she’d heard. Where did she know it from?

“Look bitch, get off the bridge so I can play with your friend.”

“Raynor, stop,” the familiar boy said, stepping forwards out of the group.

Cora kept inching forwards, hoping that Raynor would be stupid enough to do the same, and her faith was rewarded when the bridge gave an ominous crack beneath them. Raynor froze for a second, and then, when nothing happened, he resumed his slow journey. “Or what Nathan?” he jeered, grinning back over his shoulder at the other boys.

This was exactly the moment Cora had been hoping for. In one swift movement she stepped forward and kicked the join between the two planks as hard as she dared, breaking the already straining rope and severing the bridge.

“That,” Nathan said cheerfully as the flimsy half of the bridge plummeted to the ground, taking a surprised looking Raynor with it. He plummeted down into the street, and landed heavily in a pile of rubbish where he lay still.

The boys instantly tore off after him, some of them shouting threats at Cora as they went. Probably time to move she thought, watching them flee down into the street. All except the boy called Nathan.

“Come on,” hissed Rilla. “I can’t hold this much longer.”

Cora turned, making it back to the rooftop with one long leap. Once there she turned back to see Nathan looking over at her with a grin on his face.

“Cheers for that,” he said, making no move to go and check on Raynor.

“You’re welcome,” Cora called over, still trying to figure out who he was but coming up with nothing. She was about to ask him when Rilla shook her shoulder. “He’s waking up, come on!”

They scampered off the roof top, down through the building and out of the door on the other side of the street. Neither of them stopped running until they reached Rilla’s house seven blocks away, bolting up into her bedroom and collapsing in a sweaty heap on the floor.

After five minutes of wheezing Rilla had recovered sufficiently enough to start jabbering on about their ‘adventure’, talking non-stop about Cora’s bridge breaking plan, and how she’d only figured out the sitting on the plank bit at the very last second. “Who was that though?” she asked, breaking into Cora’s thoughts.

“Who?”

“Nathan, do you know him or something?”

She’d been wondering that herself, trying to figure out who he was and why he’d seemed as though he wanted to protect them.

“No, I recognise him though,” admitted Cora, getting slowly up from her uncomfortable position on the floor. “I can’t think where from.”

“He seemed to like you,” teased Rilla, wiggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

“What, you mean like Raynor liked you?”

Rilla mimed being violently sick then turned her face away, giving a delicate sniff as though the whole idea of boys was beneath her. “Well, he’s scum. As if I’d do anything with someone like him, urgh.”

“And what, Nathan isn’t scum? He was with them too,” Cora pointed out, perching on the edge of the bed. “Tenth street reds? Who came up with that stupid name? Have we seen enough of them now? Can we do something else?”

“Oh, yes,” agreed Rilla. “I’m sure I’ll have plenty of ideas for tomorrow.” She squinted at the clock, then prodded Cora, stifling a yawn with the back of her hand. “Shouldn’t you be at home?”

“Shit yes,” Cora said, leaping to her feet and sprinting for the window. “Stay out of trouble ‘til tomorrow.”

“Yes and you, make sure you…”

The rest of Rilla’s words were carried away as Cora jumped down into the street. She was sure she’d heard the word Nathan in there somewhere though, and an involuntary smile started creeping across her face as she darted through the darkening streets. Dom was not going to be pleased.

A strange sound caught her attention over the usual din of the city, forcing its way into her head and making her skid to a stop to look for it. It was the sound of an engine, not unusual in a city located under the flight path into a large space port, but it wasn’t that which caught her attention. Instead of the smooth roar there was something obviously wrong with it, and Cora flinched away as the belly of the spaceship passed overhead, expecting it to come down any second.

Nothing happened. The ship and its noise passed harmlessly into the distance, leaving Cora stood there with nothing but a racing heart and a growing sense of foolishness.

“Nothing,” she muttered. “I’m going to get in trouble for nothing.” Cora shook her head, and glanced up the street to make sure it was clear before crossing. That was when she saw it.

In the half light, dancing like glitter through the air, the tiniest glowing flakes were falling to the ground all around her. Cora couldn’t help but be fascinated by them. She stepped into the pool of light beneath a streetlamp, raised her hand up to catch them. For the briefest of seconds she felt as though she was looking up into a sky full of stars unlike anything she’d seen in her pollution filled city, twinkling above her in the deepening blue.

Then, just as quickly as they appeared, they were gone. Cora felt a twinge of regret, then frustration as she realised how late she would be by now. Dom would never believe any story about star dust falling from the sky, it sounded ridiculous even to her.

Forcing her tired legs into a flat out run, Cora dashed for home, all thoughts of stars and Nathan vanishing the moment she heard Dom’s raised voice floating through the back door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From what I can gather this is how humans were given exposure to element zero, although Shepard was probably exposed in utero as well.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cora joins the Tenth Street Reds.

Dom and Ena were exactly the kind of parents she could have hoped for. They’d taken her in, fed her, and given her a home when she’d given up expecting anything from anyone.

Ena was teaching her to sew and knit so that she could contribute to her clothes making business, and Dom had developed her almost non-existent education to the point where she was able to help him with his job at the local market, filling in inventories and working as his assistant at the weekends.

For the first time Cora had her own small income, and it made her happy despite the fact that she had to give it straight back to Dom and Ena to cover her living costs. They were funny, loving and usually quite forgiving, but one thing they were strict about was curfews.

Cora took a deep breath, and stepped into the kitchen.

“Ah, late again I see,” Dom growled, springing up from the table where he’d been sitting with Ena. “This is the third time this week, do you have any idea how much we worry? What’s your excuse this time? Simon hasn’t been out so you can’t blame him.”

Magical space dust. A boy. The words sat on the tip of Cora’s tongue as she looked at Dom’s angry face, her gaze flickering to Ena whose face remained blank. Instead she met Dom’s gaze and said “I’m sorry, I have no excuse.”

“Fine,” snapped Dom, sitting down and pushing his hands through his hair. “You know I have to ground you this time, we had a deal and you’ve broken it. No going out and no Rilla, understood?”

“I understand. It won’t happen again,” Cora said, watching the two of them for a moment as she considered asking them about the dust. The sight of Dom’s back, his shoulders hunched, made her change her mind, and she went straight to bed without another word.

Once she was lay down, safely hidden under the blanket, Cora allowed herself to think about Nathan, seeing the smile on his face as he looked over at her. Who was he though? The question lingered in her mind until she fell asleep, the faint ghost of his smile haunting her dreams.

\--

The crates were exceptionally heavy for just fruit, Cora thought, her arms burning with effort as she finished stacking the second lot. Dom had assigned her with the worst task he could think of, probably as punishment for breaking her curfew two weeks ago.

Two weeks of staying at home helping Ena obviously hadn’t been enough of a lesson, so he’d decided to make her life at work miserable as well. She was determined not to let it get to her.

There was no way it was just fruit in those crates Cora decided, going over to the closest pile and going to open the lid.

“I wouldn’t do that. If Dom catches you he won’t be happy.”

Of course it had to be the perfect Matthew who’d spotted her. As far as first crushes went he was the ideal candidate. From the first time she’d laid eyes on him at the age of thirteen, Cora had nursed an increasingly obvious crush on him. He was tall, broad shouldered, and had a curly mop of golden brown hair. The only thing nicer than his shoulders were his grey eyes that were currently fixed at her.

“Ha. Oh.” Cora cursed her suddenly squeaky voice. “Matthew.”

“I’ve been looking for you, there’s something I want to show you,” he said, either ignoring the blush on her face or not noticing. She was already red from hefting stock round the yard.

“You coming?”

The thought of Dom finding her absent made her hesitate, and Matthew noticed, taking the inventory from her hands.

“If Dom comes to find you I’ll tell him I asked for your help, no harm done. Come on.”

“Alright,” Cora gulped, following him into the cool shade of the market. She was suddenly acutely aware of her stupid outfit, the baggy t-shirt and the scruffy shorts made even worse by the stained old apron she had to wear over the top of them. Matthew was never going to notice her in that crappy old outfit.

She caught a quick glimpse of herself in a broken mirror as they passed the antiques stall, and if possible her opinion of herself dropped even lower. Her pale skin was sunburnt, and her black hair looked ridiculous in its tiny ponytail, most of her hair having escaped anyway.

“Here we go.” Matthew led her into his electronics stall and handed her some kind of bracelet contraption, leaning back against the side as he watched her. “What do you make of that?”

Cora turned it over in her hands, looking at it in deepening confusion. “I…urm.”

“Here, allow me.” Matthew’s warm hands took hers in his own, slipping the bracelet onto her hand and wrist before brushing it with his fingers to bring the device to life.

Cora couldn’t help but give a gasp of astonishment as the omni-tool came to life on her arm, lighting them both up with its bright orange glare. It was obviously one of the older clunkier models but still…an omni-tool!

“Quite something isn’t it,” murmured Matthew, leaning close to her as he fiddled with the settings. “I got it from a trader over at the docks, not the newest model but serviceable nevertheless. I thought I’d fix it up and sell it on. Shouldn’t be too much work.”

Cora who could hardly take her eyes off it even for him.

“It’s beautiful, thank you for letting me see it.” She gave him a quick smile then went back to staring at it, waving her arm through the air.

“Well, best turn it off. No sense in wasting the power”.

He took her arm and removed the omni-tool, packing it carefully away as he spoke. “See, I said I show you one of these. I’d like one myself one day, if this place ever does well enough.”

“Oh me too” Cora said a little too enthusiastically, trying not to stare at Matthew now he was so close to her. She was going to say thank you and leave but something inside her kept her feet stuck to the floor. _Please don’t do this_.

“Matthew, I…”

He turned to look at her, and she heard her voice say “Would you like to, I, er, would you like to go out or something…with me…sometime?”

Why the hell had she just said that. Various curses ran through her head as she watched Matthews smile fade a little, his mouth setting into a line. He was only three years older than her but…

“Oh Cora, sweetheart. You know I’m seeing Grace of course. And please don’t take this the wrong way, but aren’t you a little young?”

The words sank into Cora’s gut, her face colouring even more than it already had from the sun. Why had she been so completely stupid, asking him out when it was obvious he thought she was some stupid little kid he could entertain with gadgets like toys. And of course she knew about Grace, everyone knew about Grace, but somehow she’d slipped her mind.

“I’m fourteen,” Cora said thickly, willing herself not to cry in front of him.

Matthew nodded, looking uncomfortable. “I’m sorry Cora.”

She nodded, blinking hard, and then left the stall as quickly as possible to return to her crates in the boiling hot yard where nobody would ask her any questions and she wouldn’t have to look at Matthew again. His words kept running through her head. A little young. Everyone thought she looked like a kid, a tall kid but a kid nevertheless. Why hadn’t she grown like Rilla? She didn’t even have her periods yet.

Crying properly now Cora sat herself down on one of the crates facing away from the yard and covered her face to muffle the sobs, overwhelmed with frustration and embarrassment.

“Hey, I brought you this.”

The voice broke through Cora’s misery, making her drop her hands and squint blearily at whoever was speaking to her. The sight of Nathan stood in the yard holding out an icecone made her start with recognition, then realisation as she figured out who he was.

“Thank you,” she said gruffly, accepting the icecone with one hand and wiping at her face with the other. They sat in silence for a little while, enjoying the cool tang of the lemon ice as the hot midday sun streamed down on them.

“You’re Byron’s little brother.”

“And you’re Dom’s daughter.”

“Sort of.”

Another few moments of silence passed by. Cora finished her cone and crushed the paper in her hand, weighing up what to say to Nathan Lawler, little brother of one of the markets most notorious traders. Dom often had things to say about the Lawlers, few of them nice, yet here was Nathan and his ice cone.

“I liked your trick on Raynor,” he said, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “It was…good.”

“Oh.” Cora bit her lip. “Is he ok?”

“No. Broke his leg. It went quite well. For me,” he said cheerfully, turning to look at Cora with his dark dark eyes. “I’ve seen you fighting.”

What could Cora say to that? She had ended up in lots of fights for one reason or another over the last few years, mostly in self-defence. Or when it looked like starting a fight was the best form of defence. “And?” she asked, shrugging.

“I wondered if you’d like to join the gang. You seem like you’d be alright. You can hit people and you’re smart.”

Joining the Tenth Street Reds? She’d have thought he was joking, but Nathan looked absolutely serious, his expression unreadable as he watched the confusion play over her face. She knew what Rilla would say. No, probably. She didn’t like real trouble. And what would Raynor think?

“I’m not sure that’s a very good idea, after what I did to Raynor.”

Nathan nodded. “You’re right. Except I think it’s a good idea. And I’m in charge now.”

“You? You’re in charge?”

“Sort of.”

They sat unmoving as Cora took all this in, turning the idea over and over in her head. She could easily imagine what Dom would have to say about her joining the gang, let alone hanging around with one of the dubious Lawler brothers. She could practically hear his lecture already. ‘You’re too young. You need to study. Why aren’t you helping Ena more? What example are you setting Simon?’

_‘Aren’t you a little young?’_

Cora looked at him. “Alright. Where do I go?”

“I’ll meet you at the end of your road at ten tonight,” Nathan said, getting to his feet and standing so that Cora had to squint up at him. “You can make that?”

“Yes.”

“Good. See you then.”

And he was gone, leaving Cora blinking into the bright sunshine. She had no idea what she’d just got herself into, and the thought made her heart race. She’d just joined the Tenth Street Reds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to confess that I modelled Matthew on Balthier from Final Fantasy XII. I have a serious thing for him. I do have more of this story planned, but I'm working on Fallen Star and Paper Flowers for now.


End file.
